CBI hauled up for slow pace of Adarsh probe

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) was hauled up by the Bombay high court on Tuesday over the ‘casual approach’ of officers investigating the Adarsh society scam.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) was hauled up by the Bombay high court on Tuesday over the ‘casual approach’ of officers investigating the Adarsh society scam.

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The division bench of justice Ranjana Desai and justice Ranjit More expressed anger over the fact that all four arrested in the missing files case had been given bail because the CBI had failed to file a charge sheet within the stipulated 60 days.

“How can you move in such a casual manner in such a serious case?” the judges asked CBI counsel DN Salvi. Salvi said the charge sheet was delayed because the forensic laboratory’s report on voice samples of three accused were delayed.

The court was hearing public interest litigations filed by three activists. The judges have now sought a report of the probe into Adarsh-related files missing from two Union ministries.

The judges also found substance in the contention that the CBI was adopting double standards. “While three junior clerks from the Urban Development Department were arrested, special privileges are being given to central ministers,” the activists’ counsel alleged. “There should be no soft handling of certain persons,” the judges told additional solicitor general DJ Khambata.